Her Protector
by idunnonothin
Summary: Candice thinks her father is having another affair, while her mother chooses to look the other way and pretend nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, she herself is beginning to have doubts about her boyfriend, and in the midst of it all, there's a dead girl in the woods, her best friend goes missing, and there's this ridiculously hot guy, who seems to have taken an interest in her.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I don't own anything, except for the characters I've created. Please comment and let me know what you think.**

PROLOGUE

It was almost ten o'clock at night when Candice Atkinson pulled into the small gravel parking lot of Beacon Hills Preserve in her red Mini Cooper. The seventeen-year-old had been taking the twenty-minute drive out there sometimes two or three times a week for the better part of a year, though this time she had brought some company with her.

After eight months, Candice had finally been successful in her attempts to convince her cousin and best friend, Reed, to come with her, and they would have gotten on the road a lot sooner if it hadn't been for Reed already starting to regret her decision to come with before Candice had even pulled up outside her house to pick her up.

It had taken forty-five minutes to get her to cave again, and then another twenty minutes before they could get in the car because she had been having trouble finding all her running gear.

" _Where_ is that _damn_ shoe?"

"I don't know, Reed," Candice had sighed impatiently, leaning her shoulder against the bedroom door frame as she tiredly watched her cousin search for her things. "Have you checked under your bed?"

Reed had cast her an annoyed look at her suggestion, and blown her bangs out of her eyes with a hard puff of air. _"Yes,_ I've _checked_ under the bed!" Reed told her irritably but lowered herself to the floor anyway and used the flashlight on her phone to see better. She had suddenly smiled in triumph and reached under the bed, and when she'd withdrawn her arm she had been holding a bright pink Nike running shoe in her hand.

"I _swear_ , it wasn't there before!" she'd said, grinning from ear to ear. Candice had simply shaken her head and smiled in amusement at her younger cousin.

"Put it on, and let's go!"

Now as the girls were stepping out of the car, Candice got the feeling that someone was watching them, but pushed that thought from her mind when she looked around at their surrounding and couldn't see anyone, and went to stand next to Reed.

"You're ready?" Candice asked her, playfully bumping her hip against hers.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Reed replied solemnly, but fell into step beside her.

Not even ten minutes later, Reed panted, "I can't… I can't believe… I… I let you… convince me of… of doing this…"

Candice laughed. "I can't believe you let me, either!"

For as long as Candice could remember, Reed had always been one of those people claiming they were allergic to exercise when in reality they just lacked the proper motivation.

"Oh, crap!" Reed swore suddenly, slowing down her pace before stopping altogether. "Wait up, my shoelace has come undone."

"All right," Candice replied, stopping a few steps ahead of her and deciding to use the opportunity to stretch for a little bit, whilst waiting for Reed to tie her shoe. That's when she thought she spotted something lying in the grass, partly hidden behind a bush, a couple of feet off the side of the trail. She squinted her eyes and took a cautious step closer, feeling a little silly because it was probably nothing, but she still felt her heart begin to beat a little faster in her chest, and her hands trembled ever so slightly as she pushed a branch out of the way. Candice took a sharp intake of air before her mouth fell open and she let out a long, shrill curdling scream.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: Here is the first chapter of Her Protector. Please comment and let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't owe anything except for the characters I've created.**

 _Approximately eight hours later..._

It was thirty minutes left until her alarm would go off when Candice decided it was as good time as any to drag herself out of bed and get a head start on her first day back in school after an eventful – to say the least – last day of summer vacation.

With little enthusiasm, she kicked off her covers and swung her long, toned legs over the side of her queen-sized bed, and padded barefoot over to the bathroom across the hall. She gripped the cold rim of the porcelain sink, her legs feeling like rubber, and slowly raised her head to look at herself in the mirror, instantly regretting it.

Her lack of sleep was evident by the dark circles under her slightly bloodshot eyes, but moreover, the mirror reflected just how emotionally drained Candice was feeling.

Candice had been lying awake in bed all night, incapable of closing her eyes for even a second without her head being bombarded with the images of the dead body she and her cousin, Reed, had found in the woods, just the night before. The body had belonged to a girl, who couldn't have been much older than twenty years old, with twigs and leaves in her light brown hair, and her pale naked form stained with a mixture of dried blood and dirt.

Apart from the empty, dead stare, the most shocking and disturbing part had been when they had realized the girl had been cut in half, and the lower half of her body wasn't anywhere in sight.

As Candice had laid awake in her bed she had tried to distract her thoughts by concentrating on the sound of her little brother's snoring through the thin walls of her bedroom, but it hadn't been working for her. Every now and then she had cast a glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand, feeling as if it was taunting her by how slow it was ticking off the seconds.

At 11:49, Candice had received a text message from Reed. Stiles Stilinski had apparently come by her house. He had overheard his dad, who so happens to be the Sheriff of this town, get patched in because two joggers had found half of a dead body in the woods, with emphasis on _half._ So of course, Stiles and his partner in crime, Scott McCall, were heading out there. Reed hadn't told them that it was in fact she and Candice who had found the body and called it in, but Candice imagined it was just a matter of time before she did.

Reed had also asked if Candice wanted to come with them in search of the other half of the body, but Candice politely declined with a 'no thanks'. It was her intention to never go out there ever again, and she texted Reed back saying she didn't think she should either, especially when they hadn't caught the killer yet.

But Reed was never one to listen to reason. Besides, Scott was going and Reed had had a crush on him since the second grade when he'd shared his lunch with her after a bully had shoved her, subsequently making her fall and dropping her tray.

Candice hadn't had the energy to argue with Reed, so she'd simply texted her to be careful and to send a text when she gets back home so that she'll know that she's safe.

Turning on the faucet, Candice doused her face with cool water, wishing she could wash away the horrid memories of the previous night. She then returned to her bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a grey sweatshirt, ignoring the cute skirt she had laid out on the back of her desk chair before she had gone to pick up Reed. She no longer had any desire to make an effort to look extra pretty for her first day of senior year.

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and went downstairs, and was pulling her blonde hair up into a ponytail when she entered the kitchen, expecting to find everyone at the table already. Instead, she saw her little brother sitting at the breakfast table by himself, shuffling cereal into his mouth, the volume on his in-ear headphones was loud enough Candice could tell which song and by what artist he was listening to. Currently, Malcolm was listening to Why We Thugs with Ice Cube, and Candice couldn't help but smile in amusement at her thirteen-year-old brother.

As she passed him into the living room she ruffled his mass of blonde tousled hair. He begrudgingly slapped her hand away but when she glanced over her shoulder at him he was smiling.

The old hardwood floor creaked under the weight of her foot as Candice came up to stand behind the couch. Her mother stiffened when she noticed her and was quick, but not quick enough, to reach for the remote and switch the TV off. She'd been watching the news about the murder victim in the woods, who they were yet to identify still.

Renée Atkinson shot up from the couch and went to stand in front of Candice. "How are you holding up?" she asked, her tone full of concern for her daughter.

"I'm fine," Candice lied, cursing herself when her throat constricted and tears began to sting in her eyes. She swiftly took a step back before her mother could wrap her arms around her in a hug, pressing her lips together to keep them from quivering. "Don't."

"Oh, sweetheart..."

Candice angrily wiped her tears away. "I'm _fine."_

"I still think it would be better if you stayed home today, maybe get some rest-"

"No." Candice shook her head. Staying home was the last thing she wanted to do. She needed to keep busy or otherwise all she'd be able to think about was last night. She swallowed the lump in her throat and changed the subject. "Where's Dad?"

"Your father already left. There was some kind of emergency at work."

"Right," Candice replied dryly, not feeling entirely surprised. "Been a lot of those lately," she commented, restraining herself from rolling her eyes.

Her father had been acting strange the past couple of months, always in a hurry to leave the house, and never in a rush to come home. Last time he acted this way it was because he had been having an affair with a woman he'd met in the grocery store, that one time Renée had asked him to get something she had forgotten to check off her list when she had been at the store earlier.

Conrad Atkinson is a terrible liar, therefor instead of risking being caught in a lie, he avoids the people he wants to hide said something from. In this case, it's his family. That way, he can hide from his problems, instead of facing them head-on.

He was caught the last time when Renée had found a pair of women's underwear in the backseat of his car when she was searching for his wallet since he couldn't remember where he'd put it.

Candice was eavesdropping on them when her mother confronted her father. She had heard her father confess to the affair, and how it had started and his promise to end it with the other woman. Katherine, was her name.

Candice had listened to sound of her mother's crying, feeling overwhelmed with sadness and disgust at the new circumstance. Sad for her mother, for herself, and Malcolm, for their whole family, and disgust at her father's actions.

"I promise, Renée," Candice recalled him telling her mother. "I will be a good husband, and a good father to our children. All you need to do is forgive me. Things will be back to normal."

The sadness Candice had felt for her mother had vanished in thin air when she'd heard her agree with him. "Okay. I forgive you."

Candice never looked at either of her parents the same way again after that.

"Don't start," her mother told her sternly, a sharp warning in her eyes.

Candice lifted her hands up in surrender and huffed, disappointed in her mother for not acknowledging what they both knew was happening.

Right in that moment, Malcolm barged into the living room.

"Candice, come on!" he complained, frowning slightly when he sensed there was a tension between his sister and mother.

Candice stepped around her mother and feigned a reassuring smile at Malcolm, placing a hand on his upper back and steering him towards the front door.

"What's going on?" he asked her as they were walking down the driveway.

"We were just talking about what happened last night." Candice felt bad for lying to him, but their parents hadn't wanted Malcolm to know about the affair. It would only make it harder to go back to how things were, they'd reasoned. The only reason Candice knew was because she had been at home, helping in the search of the lost wallet, whilst Malcolm had been at a friend's house, playing video games.

Malcolm looked as if he wanted to argue she wasn't telling him the truth when their mother called her name from the porch of the two-story house right as they reached the car. "Have you had anything to eat?"

Candice pulled out a pack of gum from the outside pocket of her backpack and popped one in her mouth and smiled at her mother before getting into the driver seat of the red Mini Cooper. Malcolm slid into the passenger seat and buckled his seat belt while looking at her expectantly.

"It's nothing," Candice denied and started the car.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: I don't own anything, except for the characters I've created. Please comment and let me know what you think.**

Chapter Two

"You really aren't gonna tell me what that was all about between you and Mom?" Malcolm asked after a couple of minutes of driving. Candice heaved a silent sigh and glanced at her brother in the passenger seat before turning her gaze back onto the road.

"I told you," she said, flipping the lever for the blinker and slowing the car down to a stop at a red light. "We really were just talking about last night." Candice had watched enough police and detective shows to know that it was best when lying not to provide too many details.

The lights turned green and she made a right turn, the blinker turning off automatically. Neither of them said anything else before they pulled up at Beacon Hills Middle School moments later. Malcolm unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Have a good first day," Candice wished him as he climbed out. He threw his green backpack over his shoulder and poked his head inside the car.

"You'll pick me up later, yeah?" he asked.

Candice nodded. "I'll be here."

"All right," he said, smiling a little as he took a step back from the car and closed the door. She watched him for a little bit as he walked towards the school entrance. At one point, he turned around and saluted her before he went and met up with his friends with their baseball caps turned backward. She saw them high five and walk inside and started the car back up when the car behind her honked at her to get her to move along.

Candice arrived at her high school and parked her Mini Cooper in between a dark blue Toyota and a beat-up Jeep she recognized to be Stiles Stilinski's. She reached for her backpack where she had thrown it in the backseat before she ever left the driveway and pulled out her phone to check her messages. She had received a text from Luke but nothing from Reed saying that she had made it home all right last night, but it most likely wasn't anything to worry about. Reed could be rather forgetful sometimes and knowing her she probably even forgot to set her alarm clock after she'd snuck back inside last night and wasn't going to show up to school until just in time for the second period.

Candice had just clicked away the text from Luke when someone banged their hands on the windshield of her car, effectively startling her so that she almost dropped her phone in her lap. She glared at the person but he only smiled as he opened the car door for her. She grabbed her backpack and put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans as she got out. Luke closed the door and let her lock the car and put the keys away before he hooked an arm around her neck and placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"You scared me," she muttered, dismayed, and slapped his stomach. He caught her wrist and wrapped it around his waist and pulled her closer to his side as they walked across the parking lot towards the school.

"I know what I can do to make you feel better," he spoke softly into her hair, pulling her into a stop in the middle of the parking lot for everyone to see. He leaned down and kissed her, his free hand cupping her cheek to hold her there. When he pulled away a moment too soon he let his thumb brush over her bottom lip. "Feel better?"

Candice nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Good," he said, sounding awfully pleased with himself.

They continued heading towards the school building and had reached the sidewalk when they noticed Jackson Whittemore's silver Porsche pull into an empty parking space near the bicycle rack. Luke removed his arm from her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss before he started walking backward in the direction where Jackson had parked his car.

"I'll see you at lunch" he called to her before he turned around and jogged towards Jackson, who was saying something to Scott McCall.

"Yo, Jackson!" Luke shouted. "Let's go, bro."

She watched Jackson walk away from Scott and meet up with Luke and greet him with a bro handshake. Then she made her way towards the school entrance and spotted Scott a little up ahead heading there as well with Stiles Stilinski.

"No, not a chance," she heard Stiles tell Scott when she was only walking a few steps behind them.

"I heard a wolf howling," Scott argued. Candice frowned and wondered if they could be talking about their little adventure last night.

"No, you didn't," Stiles told him certainly.

"What do you mean, no, I didn't?" Scott asked him. "How do you know what I heard?"

"Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? Not in like sixty years," Stiles explained to Scott as they stopped walking.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. There are no wolves in California," Stiles stressed and it was the last thing Candice heard before she was out of hearing range.

She entered the school hallway and glanced at her phone again to see if she had received any texts from Reed as she headed towards her first-period class. When half the day had gone by and it was time for lunch and Candice still hadn't heard anything from Reed, she couldn't help but begin to feel a little worried about her cousin. She thought of what she had overheard Scott and Stiles talk about earlier and worried something might have happened last night.

Candice entered the cafeteria and looked around for the two boys she knew Reed considered her friends and always sat with at lunch. She spotted them at their usual table and noted that the seat that would normally be occupied by Reed was empty. Candice was considering going over there to ask if they had heard anything from her since last night when someone hooked an arm through hers and steered her in the opposite direction.

"You're coming to the party on Friday, right?" Lydia Martin asked her, pursing her painted lips to enhance their fullness to any onlookers.

"I wouldn't miss it," Candice told her distractedly.

"Great! Have you met the new girl yet?" Lydia asked as they reached their usual table. Luke smiled up at her and pulled out an empty chair for her.

"Saved a seat for you, babe," he said, one side of his mouth curling up in a smirk, which brought attention to his adorable dimples. Candice returned the smile and sat down next to him and took his hand in hers under the table. She turned her attention back to Lydia who sat down in the seat across from her next to her boyfriend, Jackson.

"Not yet," Candice replied to Lydia's question.

She fought against rolling her eyes when Lydia swirled a piece of her strawberry blonde hair around her finger and gazed to the side thoughtfully. "I'm thinking of inviting her to the party, but I'm not sure if she'd be able to grasp the significance of going…"

Candice smiled to humor Lydia when she, in reality, couldn't care less about whether the new girl was going to Jackson's party or not. She decided to change the topic of conversation.

"So, what were you talking about before we came over?" she asked, switching her gaze between Jackson and Luke, raising an eyebrow when neither of them said anything for a moment and simply stared at each other. Luke exhaled through his nostrils, obviously annoyed with Jackson when the blonde athlete seemed utterly unbothered and bored as he continued eating from his lunch tray. Luke then reluctantly turned his attention back to Candice but she didn't care to hear whatever lie he would feed her and had already withdrawn her hand from his under the table.

"Lacrosse practice," he said with a forced shrug of indifference. Candice didn't have the energy to put in the effort to feign a smile and decided to ignore him for now and humored Lydia for the rest of their lunch hour.

After school was over for the day, Candice headed towards the lacrosse field to watch the beginning of Luke's practice before she had to leave to pick up Malcolm. She was standing by the side of the bleachers when she was joined by Lydia and a girl she didn't recognize but figured was the new girl.

"Candice, this is Allison Argent," Lydia introduced the pretty brunette.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Candice greeted her politely.

Allison smiled. "So, do you too have a boyfriend on the team?"

"Yeah, his name's Luke. He plays defense."

Candice smiled politely but didn't participate in the conversation from there. She completely zoned them out when Lydia eventually couldn't wait any longer to ask Allison if there was anyone that had caught her attention today in any of her classes. Candice looked for Luke instead and spotted him with Jackson talking something over with Coach Bobby Finstock.

"…and there was one guy," Allison was saying when Candice started to pay attention to the conversation again. "He was in my chemistry class and took the seat next to me. He kept hitting on me throughout the class."

"You know his name?" Lydia asked.

"The teacher called everyone's name off a list in the beginning of the class but I don't remember," Allison told her. "Wait," she said suddenly. "There he is now. He's coming over here."

Candice and Lydia looked to see who it was and Candice's heart sank when she saw it was Luke. He was grinning when he reached them and didn't pay any mind to Lydia or Allison as he wrapped his suntanned muscular arms around Candice's waist in a hug and lifted her feet off the ground. He attacked her neck with smooches and if it hadn't been for what Allison had just said she would have giggled and hugged him to her. He drew back a little to be able to gaze down at her and she saw on him that he was about to ask if she was still upset with him when Lydia spoke.

"Luke," the strawberry blonde greeted him. He gave her a nod to acknowledge her back but with little interest as he immediately afterward lowered his gaze down to Candice again. He opened his mouth to say something to her but Lydia spoke again. "You've met Allison, haven't you?" she said, wearing a smug smile that didn't match the innocence of her eyes.

Candice tensed up in Luke's arms. He still had his arms around the small of her waist and her hands were resting against his chest. She could feel the heat from his body through the fabric of his jersey. Luke's eyes widened the tiniest bit before he shifted his eyes nervously between Allison and his girlfriend. He smiled guiltily down at her and Candice managed to work up a smile.

"It's fine," she assured him even though it really wasn't. "You should go. Practice is starting." His smile had dropped and his eyes were apologetic when he leaned in and pressed a kiss on her lips before he took a step back. As he turned around to leave he glared at Lydia, who kept up the innocent act.

Candice could feel Allison's watching her as she followed Luke with her eyes as he returned to the field to join his teammates. She then tore her eyes away from his jersey number and shook her head at Lydia disapprovingly.

"I'm so sorry, Candice. I didn't know," Allison apologized but Candice smiled at her reassuringly because she couldn't have known.

"It's fine," she told the other girl before addressing them both. "Listen, I gotta go pick up my little brother," she said even though she could probably stay for another ten minutes if she had wanted to. She spotted Luke on the field, standing in line to shoot at the goal, and gave him one last glance before she turned around and walked towards the parking lot to get in her car.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: I don't own anything, except for the characters I've created. Please comment and let me know what you think.**

Chapter Three

Candice had almost reached her car when she felt her phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and saw that it was her mom calling her and pressed the ignore button because she wasn't feeling like talking to anyone at that moment. There was still no messages from Reed, but she noticed with a frown she had missed four calls from her mom in the last two hours. Candice didn't think she needed to worry about it though since her mom had the habit of being a little melodramatic sometimes. She probably just wanted to call to remind her to pick up Malcolm on her way home, which Candice didn't need to be reminded of.

She unlocked the car and got in, placing her phone in the storage compartment in front of the shift lever with all the old McDonald's receipts, and put her seatbelt on. After checking behind her, she carefully began to back her car out of the tight parking spot.

Her phone rang again as she was driving towards Malcolm's school but Candice knew better than to use her phone when she was behind the wheel and turned up to music to drown out the sound of her ringtone before the call automatically went to voicemail.

A couple of songs and a commercial break later, Candice parked right across the street from the main school entrance to wait for Malcolm to come outside. She didn't have anything better to do than to go on her phone, and as she was scrolling down her Instagram feed she came across a photo that reminded her of how little she actually cared about what her boyfriend does behind her back.

Brandy, a junior she knew from a couple of classes they'd had together last semester, had posted a photo yesterday of herself in a short, tight dress, cozying up to a smiling, shirtless Luke at what seemed to be a house party. There were other people posing in the photo too, but no one Candice knew by name except for the strawberry-blonde on the far right. She zoomed in on the picture and was pretty sure she could spot herself in the background, being held upside down above a keg with a thick rubber tube in her mouth. It was no wonder she could only vaguely recall this night, she thought just as someone opened the passenger side door and jumped in.

"Did you have a good day?" Candice asked her brother as she put her phone down.

"It was okay," Malcolm replied, flipping his hair out of his eyes. "You?"

"Same," she said and prepared to start the car at the same moment her phone started ringing. "Ugh, God," she groaned and reached for it.

"Who is it?" Malcolm wondered. "Is it your _boy_ friend?" he asked her teasingly.

"It's Mom. Again," Candice told him, scrunching up her nose as she stared at her screen. "She keeps calling me."

"Well, aren't you gonna answer it?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I guess I should," she agreed and reluctantly pressed the green button. "Hey, Mom! What's up?" she spoke chipperly into the phone.

"Thank God," she heard her mom say under her breath. She sounded so relieved, Candice started to wonder right away if something bad might have happened after all. "I've been calling you for hours. Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"I've been in classes all day, I'm sorry," Candice apologized, feeling bad for not picking up earlier in the parking lot. "Is there something going on?"

"Have you been at the middle school to pick up your brother yet?" she asked her instead of answering the question.

"Yeah, he's in the car with me now." Malcolm gestured to himself and mouthed "Me?" as if there was anyone else in the car she could have been referring to. Candice nodded at him and reached over the console to ruffle his mop of blonde hair.

"You're not driving and talking on the phone at the same time, are you?" her mom asked her, her concern heavy in her voice.

"Of course not, Mom," Candice assured her. "We're still parked outside the school."

"Okay, that's good," she said, sounding _off._

"Mom, did something happen?"

"We'll talk when you get home, all right? Don't make any stops. Just come straight home."

"Yeah, okay. Sure," Candice replied, frowning.

"I'll see you soon," her mom told her and hung up. Candice removed the phone from her ear and frowned down at it for a moment before she let her head fall back against the headrest as she closed her eyes.

"What did she say?" Malcolm asked her curiously.

Candice shook her head to clear it. "She said she wanted us back at the house."

"Did she say why?"

"No, but I gather we'll find out soon enough."

They pulled into the driveway approximately ten minutes later and they were getting out of the car when their mom stepped out onto the front porch. Her blonde hair, the same shade as her children's, was still pulled into a messy bun at the nape of her neck that she'd had this morning, which meant she hadn't been in at work.

Candice and her brother walked passed her through the front door and dumped their bags on the floor before they followed behind her into the kitchen. Candice opened her mouth to ask her mom to just tell them what was wrong but closed it again when she noticed Sheriff Stilinski sitting at their breakfast table, a steaming cup of coffee sitting in front of him on the table.

"Hey, kids," the sheriff greeted them both and took a sip from his coffee.

"Sheriff," Candice greeted him back before giving her mom a questioning look. _Why is the sheriff in our kitchen?_

Renée cleared her throat and wiped her hands on her pants legs and turned her gaze at Malcolm. "Why don't you go into the living room and watch some TV, okay baby?"

"Okay..." he replied uncertainly and slowly turned around, leaving Candice alone in the kitchen with their mom and Sheriff Stilinski. Shortly thereafter they heard the sound of whatever sports channel he put on.

"Take a seat," the sheriff spoke calmly and gestured towards the chair across the table from him. Candice cautiously went over and sat down, getting more nervous when she saw him pull out a pad and a pen. "When was the last time you saw, or heard from your cousin?"

Candice frowned and glanced between her mom and the sheriff, confused. "What is this?" she asked them.

"Please just answer his questions, honey," her mom told her softly.

Candice shifted her gaze between them again and said, "First you need to tell me what this is all about. Where is Reed?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Sheriff Stilinski said to her.

She shook her head, bewildered. "What?"

"Reed wasn't in her room this morning and her bed looked unslept in. Your uncle reported her as a missing person a few hours ago," the sheriff explained but Candice still wasn't able to wrap her mind around what he had just said.

"What?" she asked again.

"My deputies and I are on it and doing our best to find her, but we need your help. When was the last time you saw or heard from her?"

"I-" Candice was at loss for words and looked helplessly at her mom as she felt her eyes welling up with tears. "I don't understand."

"It'll be okay, baby," her mom told her in an attempt to comfort her but when she saw on her daughter that her words wouldn't be enough to help her hold it together until Sheriff Stilinski had asked all there was to ask her, she came up to her and took the seat next to her. "Everything will be okay," she repeated, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise."

Candice took a deep breath to calm herself. "We texted last night when I was in bed," she shakily told the sheriff, who right away began to take notes.

"What about?"

"Uh, she said Stiles had shown up at her house."

"Stiles?" he asked, looking up at her wearing a small frown.

Candice nodded and wiped a tear away. "They were going to Scott's house next and Reed asked if I wanted to come with them."

"To go where?"

"The woods. They were going to the Preserve to look for the other half of the body."

"Were the boys aware it had been you and Reed that had found the first half?"

"They might've. I don't know."

"Did Reed mention anything else?"

"No, only that she agreed to text me if she had gotten home all right."

"But she never did?"

Candice shook her head and wiped away more tears with her hand.

"You did good, Candice. Really good," Sheriff Stilinski told her gently and squeezed her arm as he stood from his chair. "This was very helpful."

Her mom got to her feet as well and offered to see him out to his car. When Renée returned to the kitchen a couple of minutes later, her eldest was still sitting at the table, her shoulders shaking as she silently cried into her hands that she had her face buried in.

Candice felt the warmth and comfort of her mom's hand as she began to stroke soothing circles on her back just as she heard someone approach.

"Did the sheriff leave?" Malcolm asked quietly from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Yes, baby," Renée told him, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a sad smile as she gestured for him to come over to them. When he reached them, Renée put an arm around him and pressed a kiss on the top of his head. "It'll be okay," she whispered.

Candice barely touched her dinner that night and went to bed early, but she still hadn't fallen asleep hours later when the rest of her family went to bed. Another hour passed and Candice got tired of just lying there and kicked off her covers and went to stand by her window.

She suddenly felt the same feeling of being watched that she'd had the night before when she and Reed had gotten out of the car. Candice had ignored it then, but after everything that had happened, she couldn't help but think that whoever it was watching them in the woods last night, and was watching her again right now, was somehow connected with the dead girl they found and Reed's disappearance. It left Candice wondering if Reed would eventually be found in the same way, having had suffered the same brutal death, and if she should be watching her back because she might as well be next.


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: Thank you for favoriting and/or following my story! I'm still not the owner of Teen Wolf, nor will I ever be, but please keep commenting to let me know what you think.**

Chapter Four

Candice still had trouble falling asleep after she had gone back to bed. Besides images of the Jane Doe in the woods, different scenarios involving Reed's disappearance filled her thoughts. Eventually, she decided she'd had enough of lying awake, staring at the ceiling, and snuck into her parents' bedroom across the hall from hers.

Tiptoeing passed their sleeping forms, Candice gently pushed their bathroom door open and went inside. Because she didn't want to risk waking them up, she didn't switch the lights. Instead she used the flashlight on her phone to be able to see anything in the dark as she rummaged through the medicine cabinet. After she'd found what she was looking for she snuck back inside her room and closed the door.

She sat down on the edge of her bed in her pajamas and popped one of her mother's prescription sleeping pills in her mouth and washed it down with the glass of water she had on her bedside table. Then she got under the covers and closed her eyes and didn't have to wait long until the sleeping pill kicked in.

Candice woke up the following morning to the sound of her alarm clock going off. She got out of bed and made herself ready for school, dressing in a pair of tight blue jeans and a white long sleeved t-shirt Luke had left behind at some point. Then she went downstairs and into the kitchen and put the glass she'd had in her room during the night in the dishwasher.

Her father was sitting at the breakfast table with one leg crossed over the other, reading the newspaper. "Morning, hon," he greeted her, glancing up at her.

Candice mustered up a half-smile his way before looking at Malcolm, sitting in the chair across from their father, devouring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Almost finished?" she asked him, her lips spreading into a wide smile when he nodded and stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "Well, let's go then," she laughed.

"Bye, Dad," Malcolm said as he got up and tilted his head back as he drank up what little orange juice was left in his glass. He put his plate and glass in the sink and told Candice he'd be ready in a minute.

Renée entered the kitchen in her robe as Malcolm ran upstairs to fetch his school bag.

"You're leaving for school?" she asked Candice.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting on Mal," she replied, gripping the edge of the kitchen counter behind her when her father hurriedly closed his paper and grabbed the leather briefcase next to him.

"I'm off," he said and quickly made his way passed them, carefully avoiding locking eyes with either of them.

Candice looked at her mother dead in the eye, feeling her skin prickle with the anger pumping through her, her mother's obvious feigned smile only adding fuel to the flame.

"Have you eaten anything?" her mother asked her then. Candice sighed, both aggravated that her mother was insisting on lying to herself and to be asked that same question almost every morning. She grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl next to her hand and spitefully waved it in front of her mom before she walked around her, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

Malcolm was coming back downstairs just as she reached the front door.

"Bye, Mom!" he shouted over his shoulder as he followed Candice outside.

"Have a good day!" Candice heard their mom wish them right before the door closed behind them.

She dropped Malcolm off first and afterwards drove to her high school and pulled her red Mini Cooper into a parking space. As she stepped out of the car she could tell something was off, but she didn't figure out what it was until she was walking down the school hallway towards her locker. People were trying to be discrete about it but their staring still didn't manage to go unnoticed.

When Candice reached her locker, Lydia and the new girl were standing there waiting on her. She wondered if they knew why she seemed to be the center of attention. "Why are there people staring at me?" she asked them quietly as she put in her locker combination.

Lydia pressed her lips together and studied her polished nails and it was Allison who answered. "Everyone's already heard about how your cousin had gone missing."

Candice knew she probably shouldn't be too surprised the news of Reed's disappearance had travelled that fast.

"I'm sorry about that," Allison said to her kindly. "I hope they'll find her."

"Me too," Candice muttered under her breath, taking out a textbook from her locker before closing it.

She did her best to ignore the stares and whispers as she sat in classes and walked through the halls. The staring annoyed her, but it also pushed her into doing what she had meant to do the day before.

When it finally hit time for lunch, Candice walked through the cafeteria doors and headed straight towards the table Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski was sitting at and pulled out a chair. They looked at her as if she had grown a second head when she sat down and placed her elbows on the table.

"What are you-" Stiles began to ask but Candice spoke over him.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened on Sunday night."

Scott scratched his chin. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Candice gave him a blank look. "Just tell me."

"Okay, well… we were out in the woods, looking for the other half of the body," he disclosed. "There were deputies searching the area and Stiles was caught by his dad, while me and Reed hid behind some trees. We started walking towards the road so that we would easier be able to find our way back into town."

"Then what happened?"

"A wolf came out of nowhere and started chasing us."

"It wasn't a wolf," Stiles chimed in with a roll of his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? There are no _wolves_ in the state of California."

"Well, something was chasing us," Scott argued, "and I heard a wolf howling."

"Whatever, what happened next?" Candice urged them impatiently.

"We got separated and the animal caught me. Bit me."

"And what about Reed?"

Scott shrugged, which infuriated Candice even more. "Why are you shrugging as if you don't know?" she demanded. "What happened to her?"

"After the thing tackled me to the ground and took a chunk of my flesh, I was able to get away from under it and started running again but when I looked behind me, it was gone. I don't know what happened to Reed but at the time I guess I just figured she had gotten away and would find her way back on her own. After I found out she'd never made it home that night…"

 _Don't say it._

"It's possible that whatever was chasing them got to her too," Stiles finished the sentence for his best friend.

"You left her," Candice exhaled, her shoulders slumping.

"What would you have had me do?" Scott asked her helplessly. "I was hurt and the thing was still out there!"

"All the more reason!" she yelled at him, slamming her hand on the table, rattling the boys' food trays. The chatter of the packed cafeteria died down for a minute and she felt a lot of eyes on them.

"I'm sorry, Candice," Scott said quietly, looking ashamed of himself.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't change anything, does it?" She pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. Then she turned and walked out.

Candice knew she might've been too hard on Scott, but she didn't wallow in it. Her cousin was still missing after all and Scott was partly to blame for it.

The rest of the week went by and people eventually stopped staring, and by Friday all anyone was talking about was Jackson's party. Sheriff Stilinski had told the Atkinsons' that the sheriff department was putting all of their resources into finding Reed and they'd promised to keep them updated on any progress they made in the search. Yet it wasn't until that Friday afternoon they received a phone call from the sheriff.

Candice was just taking a seat on the bleachers to show Luke her support at his lacrosse practice when her phone beeped, announcing a text. She read it was from Malcolm and opened it, its content turning everything around her into white noise.

Their mom had just picked him up after school and was on the speakerphone with the sheriff when he got into the car. Apparently, forensic evidence form the body they'd found suggested a wolf was somehow involved in her death, which confirmed what Scott had told Candice on Tuesday about a wolf being in the woods that night. Scott must've told Sheriff Stilinski the same thing he'd told her because Malcolm had also included in his text that the sheriff wanted them to prepare themselves for the worst.

" _Candice?"_ she distantly heard her name being called. "Candice, did you hear anything of what I just said?"

She shook her head to clear it and looked at Lydia, who at some point had taken the seat next to her. "Sorry," she apologized to her and put her phone away.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Candice lied and turned her attention to the field. Her eyes locked with Luke's and he blew her a kiss, but before he could see her catch it, he turned his head away to pay attention to what Coach Finstock was yelling at them.

Candice hadn't been able to keep her mind off Reed since she'd first learned of her disappearance on Monday, and now after the sheriff himself had practically pronounced Reed dead when there wasn't a body to confirm it, she definitely wasn't in the mood to attend Jackson's party.

"I'm going," she told her mom for a second time, checking her reflection in the gold mirror in the foyer. She had changed into a pair of black jeans and a mustard top, and gone with black flats instead of her usual sneakers.

"Fine," her mom said. "But promise me you'll call if anything happens or you need Dad to come and get you, okay?"

"I'll be fine," Candice replied, trying her best to sound convincing. The truth was she was going to the party for the same reason she went to school the day after they'd found the body, to distract herself.

Her mom put her hands on her hips, about to call her daughter on her lie when they heard a car pull up outside the house. Candice pushed the heavy curtain aside and peered out the window, recognizing her boyfriend's BMW his parents got him for Christmas the year he turned sixteen.

"Mom, I promise, but I'm fine. Really," she said in an attempt to reassure her. "Love you," she added, giving her mom a quick hug before she threw open the front door.

When they arrived at the party relatively early the house was already crawling with people. Luke threw an arm around Candice as they made their way through the house that they'd ben to so many times before. They walked through the sliding doors at the back of the house to the backyard where most people had gathered.

The party was in full swing all around them as Candice sat between Luke's legs on the newly cut grass, as he and the few people that had formed a circle, passed around a joint. With her back leaning back against his chest and her arms resting on his jean-clad thighs, she lazily let her eyes roam over her drunk classmates. She didn't care to partake in any conversations or even listen to whatever Luke and their friends were meaninglessly discussing in their drunken and stoned stupor.

Lydia and Jackson were making out in a corner, and she saw Brandy clumsily removing all her clothes except for her underwear, almost falling over her own shoes, and jump into the pool while her friends hooted and eventually did the same. Right across from her, Greenberg was blowing smoke rings and trying to teach Robbie, the guy sitting on his right, how do it. Then Candice spotted Scott dancing closely with Allison and she wondered when that had happened. She wasn't too surprised though that she had missed the two of them had hit it off since she had been a lot in her own head lately.

If she hadn't already been observing them, Candice wouldn't have noticed when Scott suddenly bent over and clutched his head as if he was in pain. Allison looked freaked out because she didn't know what was wrong with him and remained confused when he turned around and quickly made his way through the throng of people to get away. Candice watched Allison rush after him and got curious herself and began to get up.

"Where're you going?" Luke asked her, hooking an arm loosely around her ankle to prevent her from leaving.

"I'll be right back," she told him and was able to shake her leg free.

She hurried after them and was coming around the corner of the house just in time to see Scott jump into a car and speed off down the street.

Candice started approaching Allison but faltered in her steps when an undeniably attractive guy, seemingly a few years older than them, came out of the shadows. He had dark hair, a handsome face with a strong jawline, and a lean muscular physique and wore a white t-shirt underneath a black leather jacket.

"Allison," he said, coming up behind the brunette. Candice frowned, confused about how Allison knew this guy, especially when she still was so new to town, but quickly realized she didn't actually know him when he went on to introduce himself to her. "My name is Derek, and I'm a friend of Scott's. I can give you a ride home."

Allison continued to stare down the street where Scott's car could no longer be seen driving away for another long moment before finally turning her attention to this Derek-guy. Candice heard the other girl thank him and watched as he led Allison to a black Camaro. It got her thinking and she threw a glance over her shoulder at the party and bit her lip. When she looked back at Allison she was getting into the front passenger seat of the guy's car. Now was the time to decide. _Stay or go?_

She took a step towards them. "Actually," she called out, making him stop and look at her. "Would you mind terribly if you drove me home too?"

He didn't say anything, his eyes examining her face as if he was trying to get a read on her. She realized she must look stupid, all dolled up to party with her friends but instead she stood there, asking a stranger to take her away from there.

"I _really_ need to get out of here," she said to him in an almost pleading tone.

"Fine," he said. "Get in."


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: I don't own anything, except for the characters I've created. Thank you for following and favoriting my story and thank you for commenting! Sorry to have kept you waiting but here you have it: Chapter Five.**

Chapter Five

Candice glanced behind her at the modern cube-shaped house, wondering how long it would take Luke to notice she had left and decide the coast was clear to scope out some other girl. She figured it probably wouldn't take him that very long.

"Are you coming?" the guy in the black leather jacket asked her, his arms folded over the roof of his car. Candice nodded and crossed the lawn to the black Camaro where it was parked alongside the curb. She gave Derek a small smile in thanks as she opened the door to the backseat. He tapped the roof of the car twice before he too got inside.

"Thanks for this," she said as she put her seatbelt on. "I'm Candice by the way."

"Derek," he muttered back.

Candice gave him her address while he started the engine. 70s rock music started blaring from the sound system, startling Candice and Allison both, but he was quick to lower the volume and switch to a radio station.

They had just started driving down the street when Allison twisted around in her seat in the front until she could see Candice in the back. "You're not catching a ride with Luke?"

"Not tonight."

"Did you guys get into a fight?" Allison asked, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ear.

"No." Candice gave a little shake of her head. "I just couldn't stay there."

"You're not worried he'll be upset you left without telling him?"

Candice lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. "I doubt he'll really care. If there's one thing Luke knows it's how to have a good time."

The brunette narrowed her eyes in deep thought, probably recalling Candice's lack of surprise after just finding out her boyfriend had been flirting with the new girl during class.

"I thought it would help me, you know," Candice admitted, lowering her eyes to her lap. She fidgeted with the tennis bracelet around her wrist. Luke had given it to her on their first Valentine's Day together. "I thought a party was exactly what I needed to get my mind off everything but… I can't just pretend everything is right in the world."

Allison cocked her head. "Have they had any progress in finding her yet?" Candice shook her head. "Not at all?" Another shake of her head. "They'll find her," Allison said, her face crumpling up with sympathy as she tried to come off as reassuring.

Candice was able to work up a small smile of appreciation as the other girl reached over and squeezed her knee before settling back in her seat.

She sneaked a glance over at Derek in the rearview mirror and froze when he was already looking at her. He was looking at her in the same way he had earlier when he had been trying to get a read on her; with a small frown. Their eyes stayed connected for another long moment before he had to tear them away to focus on the road.

Candice leaned forward between the seats when he turned in on her street, her blonde hair brushing the side of his shoulder. "It's the third house on the right."

He pulled over to the curb outside the red brick home.

"Thanks again for the ride," she said as she started to get out. He gave her a curt nod but didn't say anything. "I'll see you on Monday, Allison."

"Yeah, have a good rest of the weekend!"

Candice walked up the flagstone path to the front porch, climbed the steps, and turned the handle of the blue-painted door. She stepped into the foyer and removed her flats, letting them dangle from her fingers as she headed towards the living room.

"Candice?" her dad's voice called over the sound of whatever romantic comedy was playing on the TV.

"Yeah," she said as she entered the room. Her mother was asleep on the brown leather couch, her feet resting in her husband's lap under a plaid blanket.

"You're home early." He looked at her with concern over the back of the couch. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Candice replied. "I'm just tired and took a ride home with Allison."

"Allison?"

"The new girl."

He nodded, the concern in his eyes still there. "How are you holding up?"

"It's been a rough few days," she told him truthfully.

"They'll find her, though. Your uncle has been in contact with the sheriff department every day. He will let us know as soon as he hears anything, okay? They'll find her."

Candice nodded and refrained from asking him in what condition he thought they might find her in. "Goodnight, Dad," she said instead.

"Sleep tight," she heard him reply as she turned and went back to the foyer where she started up the stairs.

Candice approached her locker on Monday after leaving her first period English class with Mr. Henderson. Her steps faltered a little bit when she noticed Luke was waiting for her, his shoulder leaned against the locker next to hers on the right. He was looking down at the iPhone in his hands, his thumbs moving rapidly over the small screen.

"Hey," she greeted him and bit her lower lip when he took his own sweet time to finish the text and press send before putting his phone away. "How was the rest of your weekend?" she asked tentatively as she put in her locker combination.

"Great," he said with heavy sarcasm. "Except I was a little confused as to why my girlfriend totally disappeared on me on Friday night and was seen getting into a car with some other guy."

"I'm sorry I left like that," Candice apologized and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. Luke crossed his arms defiantly, the muscles in his arms tensing.

"Oh, so you're not gonna tell me what getting into another dude's car was all about?"

Candice reached into her locker and grabbed her American history textbook before meeting Luke's hard eyes. "It was nothing," she assured him. "I don't even know him. He's a friend of Scott McCall's and when he offered Allison a ride home after Scott took off, I asked if he could drive me home too. So, you see, it was nothing."

"Allison was with you?"

"Yes," Candice said with an exasperated sigh and took his hand in hers. She stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Nothing happened? He just drove you guys home?"

"Straight home. He even dropped me off first." She watched him slowly nod his head and exhale a sigh of relief. "We're good?"

Luke smiled sweetly. "Yeah," he said. "I guess Brandy forgot to mention she saw Allison getting into the car as well."

Candice dropped his hand and hugged her textbook to her chest. "Brandy?"

"Yeah, she was at Jackson's party."

"I know she was." She smiled tightly. "Did you and she have a good time?" She held her hand up as Luke opened his mouth to deny what she was suggesting. "Save it."

She slammed her locker closed and started walking in the direction of her next class but had only taken a few steps when he snatched up her hand and spun her around so that she was facing him.

"Babe," he pleaded. "I didn't do anything with her, I swear."

"Honestly, Luke," Candice said, lifting her shoulders. "I don't even know if I care at this point what you do."

He didn't make an effort to stop her this time when she turned around but she could feel his eyes on her as she walked away.

Candice paid for her salad and bottle of sparkling water before balancing her tray over to her usual table in the school cafeteria. She purposely took a seat on the opposite end of the table from where Luke was sitting. She wasn't sure whether she was still mad at him or not but she wasn't ready to act like nothing quite yet.

Allison was sitting in the seat across from her and smiled up at her.

"Hey," Candice greeted her as she removed the plastic lid of her chicken salad.

"Hi, how's your day going so far?"

Candice glanced at Luke out of the corner of her eye and heaved her chest in a heavy sigh. "Luke and I had a bit of an argument in the hallway earlier."

Allison made an apologetic face. "I know, I heard."

Candice picked up her fork and stabbed a spinach leaf. "You know," she said in a hushed tone. "I can't believe he had the nerve to be angry with me for getting a ride home with some guy when he was probably making a move on Brandy the minute he noticed I'd left." She blew out a frustrated huff and realized that maybe she was still mad at him.

"Brandy Evans? I have economics and P.E. with her."

"He pulls this crap all the time, but do I ever make a scene in the school hallway? No. I let it go."

Allison folded her arms on the edge of the table and leaned into them. "Let me see if I got this straight," she said with a slight frown. "You're not mad your boyfriend is hooking up with other girls. You're mad because he obviously cares if you would start hooking up with someone else."

Candice groaned and asked herself about when things had gotten so complicated. She laid down her fork and buried her face in her hands. "I know it sounds stupid."

"It doesn't just _sound_ stupid," Allison said with a small laugh. "Can I ask you something?"

Candice waved her hand in the air as if to say, 'go ahead'.

"Why are you with him?" Allison whispered. "I mean, do you even want to be?"

Candice removed her hands from her face and really considered her question but finally just shrugged. "I don't know." She glanced at Luke again. He was in the middle of a discussion with Jackson and Danny Mahealani about something most likely lacrosse related. "I mean, I've known him for as long as I can remember. It's Luke."

Neither of them said anything for a long moment until Allison changed the subject. "Listen," she said quietly. "After we dropped you off at your house, Derek asked about you."

Candice picked up her fork to resume eating. "What about?"

"If whether we were talking about the missing girl," Allison replied. "I told him yes and explained she's your cousin. Was that all right for me to do?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Candice reassured her. "He asked."

Allison looked relieved. "Okay, good."

Candice poked around the food content in the plastic container. "Did he say anything else?"

Allison shook her head. "No, he was quiet again after that and drove me home. I think I left my blazer in his car though."

"Let's go!" the coach was shouting at his players when Candice took a seat on the bleachers after school had ended. She hadn't planned to come to watch Luke's lacrosse practice and he hadn't asked her to, but she figured showing her support was a nice peace offering.

"One-on-ones from up the top. Jackson, take the long stick today," Finstock shouted. "Attaboy."

The boys got into position on the field and Finstock blew his whistle.

"That's how you do it, Jackson. That's how you do it. Greenberg, take a lap, let's go!"

Candice smiled and waved when Luke finally looked up and noticed her. He broke into a grin and returned her wave.

"Reyes! Take your eyes off your little girlfriend unless you want to join Greenberg!"

"Yes, Coach," Luke replied but flashed Candice another wide smile before putting all his focus back into the exercise.

Candice dug out her phone and checked her messages but raised her gaze just in time to see Jackson slam Scott to the ground.

"Hey, McCall! You're sure you still want to be first line, McCall?" Finstock laughed as he walked up to the boy. "My grandmother can move faster than that and she's dead. Do you think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother?"

Candice scowled at the coach but she was used to his ways after attending countless practices and games over the past two and a half years she's been with Luke.

"I can't hear you," she heard him say to Scott.

"Yes, Coach," Scott said, loud enough that all his teammates and the few spectators on the sidelines heard him.

"Then do it again," Finstock told him. Scott listened and returned to his position. "McCall's gonna do it again," Finstock announced to everyone. "McCall's gonna do it again." He blew the whistle. "Let's go!"

Candice leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees, clasped her hands in front of her and held her breath as Scott ran straight towards Jackson. She gasped and rose from her seat when he rammed into him, effectively knocking Jackson to the ground. With wide eyes, she watched Jackson clutch his shoulder and cry out in pain. Stiles left the bench and hurried to the middle of the field and helped Scott up to his feet while everyone else created a circle around their team captain.

Candice grabbed her backpack but when she looked towards the field again something else, or rather someone else, caught her attention. Looking like the stereotypical bad boy, dressed in a dark pair of jeans, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket, was Derek. His eyes were trained on Scott as Stiles led him off the field and towards the locker room. It looked like he was just about to leave when he spotted her on the bleachers, her red backpack hanging loosely off one shoulder.

Candice eyed him curiously and he held her gaze, an almost amused glint in his eyes. He gave her a nod of acknowledgment before looking away and walking in the direction of the parking lot.

She stepped down from the bleachers and wanted to trail after him but stopped in her tracks when her name was called.

"Candice, go get the nurse!"


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: I don't own anything, except for the characters I've created. Also, English isn't my native language so throughout the story there might be some grammar mistakes or words that are used incorrectly.**

Chapter Six

It turned out Jackson might have a dislocated shoulder, which put Saturday's game in jeopardy. He was currently sitting on the bench, clutching his injured shoulder with all the guys from the team standing around him, looking like they didn't know what to do with themselves. The anger radiating from their captain was clearly making them uncomfortable by their absolute silence as well as the fleeting glances they were sending each other.

The only ones from the team that weren't there was Scott and Stiles, but Candice figured that it was probably a good thing, considering it was Scott who'd smacked Jackson down. If the sophomore hadn't been on Jackson's shit list before, he would definitely find himself there now.

Coach Finstock was talking to the school nurse a few feet away, but they could all still hear what was being said between them. Their coach didn't even make an attempt to hide his concern for the sake of his players about their chances to win in the upcoming game if Jackson would have to sit this one out. The nurse didn't do much to ease their worry either.

Candice gave Luke's hand a gentle squeeze, knowing he was silently panicking over the prospect of Jackson not being able to play in Saturday's game as much as the rest of them.

He smiled appreciatively down at her and sighed. "I think I'm gonna take Jackson to the hospital to have them examine his shoulder. Maybe they can prescribe him something so that he'll be fine to play."

"Okay," Candice said, nodding.

"It might be a while, but would it be all right if I came over afterwards?"

"Sure," she replied. "I don't know how much fun I'll be though. I have some homework I need to get done."

"That's fine, I don't mind. I might be of some help even."

Candice huffed a laugh because that was seriously doubtful and Luke knew it. School had never really been his thing, and the only real chance he had of getting accepted to a college despite his grades was a lacrosse scholarship. "Funny. But I guess I'll see you later."

She gave his hand another squeeze before letting it go and shifting her attention to the team captain. "Feel better, Jackson," she wished him, hiding an amused smile behind her hand when she only received a grumpy nod in return.

Candice caught herself searchingly looking around at her surroundings as she crossed the school parking lot to her car. She realized she was checking to see if a certain someone in a leather jacket was still around somewhere and felt a tinge of disappointment that he'd already left. She hadn't had a single conversation with the guy but for some reason he intrigued her. She frowned at herself and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

She got into her car and left the parking lot but decided to make a quick stop at a gas station on her way home. She pulled into a parking space and turned the engine off.

As she was making her way towards the small convenience store, Candice caught sight of a familiar black Camaro parked next to the gas pumps. The glass door to the store swung open just as she reached it and she came face-to-chest with the owner of the racy car.

"Hey."

She lifted her gaze and locked eyes with him. "Uh, hi."

Derek stepped aside and continued to hold the door open for her.

"Thank you," Candice said and slipped passed him. "So, uh," she began in a lame attempt to spring up a conversation with him. She forgot what she had been about to say however when she turned around to face him again and his back was already turned and he was walking away from her. The door closed and she was left watching him through the window as he got into his car without so much as a glance back at her.

She felt her face heat up, embarrassed for thinking he would be interested in having a conversation with her, but even more embarrassed when she noticed the kid behind the counter giving her a pitiful look. She lowered her head a little and let her hair fall across her shoulder and hide her blush as she went over and grabbed a granola bar. She quickly paid for it and then she was out of there.

The house was empty when Candice came home. Both her parents were still at work, and Malcolm had said something that morning about going over to his friend Brian's house after school.

She went upstairs and into her room, and the first thing she did was connect the Bluetooth on her phone to her Marshall speaker. She chose a playlist that fitted well with her mood and the first song that came on was _5 Years Time_ by Noah and the Whale.

She opened her textbooks and logged in on her laptop, and by the time Luke texted that he was on his way over she was halfway done with her paper.

"Stop stressing," she told him, clicking the save button before getting up from her MALM desk and crossing the room to him where he was sitting on the edge of her bed.

It had been nearly twenty minutes since he rang the doorbell and he still hadn't been able to let go of his worry.

"It'll be fine," she stressed, stepping between his legs, and easing his hands away from his face before lifting his chin to make him look up at her. "I'm sure Jackson will be able to play in the game. But, you know, even if he wouldn't be, you still might be able to win."

Luke huffed, bemused. "Yeah, might." He turned his head a little and pressed his lips to the palm of her hand, his frown slowly dissolving into a sly smirk. He gave her other hand a little tug and she smiled as she let herself fall flush against him until his back hit the mattress. She felt his fingers vow into her hair as she straddled him and placed her hands on his chest to help her balance.

He stared up at her with a sort of wicked smile. "How long did you say we have the house for ourselves for again?"

"About an hour." She dipped her head and brushed her lips against his in a teasing manner, arching her neck when his fingers tightened in her hair. He rolled them over and closed the minimal distance between them, releasing her hair and slipping his hands underneath her shirt as her lips parted against his.

"So, how was school today?"

Candice looked up from the pot roast on her plate and met her mother's eyes across the dinner table and shrugged her shoulders. "Uneventful," she replied, not wanting to get into anything.

Renée shifted her attention to Luke in the seat on the right of Candice. "Well, how's lacrosse coming on, Luke? I look forward to seeing you play in the first game of the season."

"Thank you, ma'am," Luke said politely. "Lacrosse is… lacrosse. Jackson Whittemore dislocated his shoulder today at practice, but I'm trying to stay optimistic that he'll still be good to play."

"Oh, no." Renée took a sip of her red wine and set the glass back down on the coaster. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Luke nodded somberly and took a bite from the food on his plate.

"I can come to the game too, right?" Malcolm asked their mother from his seat next to her.

"Of course," Renée told him, smiling at her youngest. "We'll go together, all three of us."

Candice froze. "Not four?"

Renée inhaled sharply and her smile wavered, a sign that showed she was really having to apply herself to keep her composure in front of Luke and Malcolm. "Your father has to work."

"On a Saturday night?"

"Yes," she hissed, giving Candice a hard look and she knew it was a good idea to stop pushing the subject. "Sometimes your father has to work after business hours and it so happens that he has to work on Saturday and won't make it to see the game."

Candice glanced over at Luke when she felt him pat her thigh under the table. "It's okay," he said to her. "Your dad's probably been to more of my games in the past two years that we've been together than my own pop ever has."

She laid a hand on top of his and half-smiled. Luke had no reason to doubt her father's whereabouts since she never confided in him after she found out the truth. So of course, Luke would assume she was making a deal out of her dad having to work because she wanted him to see her boyfriend's lacrosse game with the rest of her family. In that moment, Candice also felt bad because she knew Luke wanted nothing more than to make his dad proud, yet Mr. Reyes had never showed an interest in seeing his son play the game he loved.

"This meatloaf tastes great, Mom!" Malcolm blurted, breaking the weird silence that had fallen around the dinner table and effectively changing the subject.

"Well, I'm full," Luke announced after they all were done eating. He stood from his chair and everyone else did the same as well. "Thank you, Mrs. Atkinson, for inviting me to stay for dinner. It was lovely as always."

"Oh, you're very welcome, Luke," Renée replied as she began to clear away the dishes. "Be sure to say hi to your mom for me."

"I will."

Candice walked him to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow in school."

He leaned in and kissed her before he stepped back and turned the door handle. She followed him out to the porch and watched him jog down to his car, which stood parked behind hers on the driveway. He waved as he got in behind the wheel and she waved back. Then she went back inside the house and helped her mother and little brother clean up after dinner.

A couple of hours later, Candice descended the stairs, sporting her black running tights and neon yellow long-sleeved shirt.

"Mom, I'm going for a run!" she shouted through the house as she tried to untangle her earphones.

"Oh, a-all right," her mother said with a shaky voice, coming into the foyer with her arms loosely crossed over her chest and a deep look of worry on her face.

Candice frowned at her. "I'll be careful."

"Hm mm," she said, nodding, and uncrossed her arms only to cross them again a moment later. "I know you will, sweetie."

"I'll be back in an hour or two," Candice informed her mother when she finally had managed to untangle the earphones. "I promise," she added and gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around and leaving through the front door.

Candice jumped into her car and drove to the Beacon Hills Preserve and as per usual the parking lot was clear of other cars.

She had hesitated coming back to the woods since she could've just gone for a run around the neighborhood, but she had always preferred this trail and she figured it could be sort of therapeutic to return after the traumatic night she'd had there just about a little over a week ago.

She put her earphones in and put on an upbeat playlist she had created specifically for her to listen to during her runs. The music filled her ears as she started running the trail with only the dim light from the street lamps lightening her way. She almost immediately felt a sense of panic building up within her as she was all too aware that with every step she took she was getting closer and closer to the scene where she and Reed had found the body.

Despite the dread she was feeling in that moment, Candice still didn't regret coming out to the woods. She could only guess it was because in a twisted way she felt like she deserved to feel that pain. A big part of her was convinced she wore the blame for her cousin's disappearance because she should've tried harder to stop her from returning to the woods that night.

Her steps faltered as she reached the scene. She paused the music and took out her earphones as she stood frozen to the ground, her eyes fixed on the exact spot the girl's body had been hidden behind a branch. Time passed and she didn't realize she was crying until she heard the snap of a twig.

She wiped her hand across her cheeks and looked around but couldn't see anyone. "Who's there?"

A dark silhouette started approaching her and she instinctively backed up a step and felt her heartbeat speed up.

"It's all right," a voice she recognized said. "It's me."

Her shoulders instantly sagged in relief and she pressed a hand to her chest. "Derek? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted, coming to a stop a few feet in front of her. He buried his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's okay." There's just a murderous maniac on the loose. "So?"

"I grew up close by and used to wander through the woods a lot as a kid," he explained. "I've lived in New York for the past six years, and I have to say, Central Park just doesn't do it for me."

"What are you doing back?" Candice asked him curiously, feeling the panic within her from before subduing into nothing.

He was quiet for a moment, seeming to hesitate whether he should tell her. Candice started worrying if she'd overstepped and was about to apologize when he apparently decided he was in a sharing mood after all.

"My sister, Laura, returned to Beacon Hills a while back, and when I stopped being able to reach her on her cell, I jumped on the next flight."

"She was fine though, right?"

Derek looked away and was quiet again for a moment before he said, "It's late and it isn't safe out here. Come on, I'll walk you back to your car."

He strode passed her, expecting her to follow him, but she lingered behind, lost in her own head. Candice thought about his disclination to answer her rather simple question, and feared it could have something to do with the Jane Doe they'd found, just a few feet away from where she was standing. She snapped herself out of it a moment later and jogged up to him and fell into step beside him.

He opened the car door for her but she hesitated to get in at first. Just as she was about to however, he stopped her.

"Hand me your phone?"

She removed it from her running armband and gave it to him. He pressed the home button and showed her the screen.

"It's password protected."

"Right," she muttered, and put in the code. "There."

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she watched him program his phone number into her cell.

He gave her phone back to her and cleared his throat. "Have a good night," he wished her before turning on his heels and walking back into the woods.


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: I don't own anything except for the characters I've created.**

Chapter Seven

"Wait." Derek stopped and turned around to look at her. "You need a ride somewhere?" she asked him, biting her lower lip, her hand propped on the open car door.

He raised an eyebrow but finally, he just nodded. "Sure."

Candice smiled timidly and got into the driver's seat and buckled her seatbelt as he made his way over. She was turning the key in the ignition when he reached the passenger side and got in.

"Where are you staying?" she asked as she backed out and headed for the parking lot exit.

"Start with taking a right here and then a few miles up the road there's a private road on the right, leading up to the property."

Candice glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and dared not to ask why he was giving her directions to the Hale house, which she knew had burned down years ago. He couldn't possibly be staying there. Could he? She had to restrain herself from asking because she knew she might not want to hear the answer.

She remembered the fire. It had been all over the local news and for a while, it was all anyone had seemed to talk about. She had been about eleven years old, and from what she could recall, there had been people trapped inside and only one had been able to escape. Derek and his older sister had been fortunate enough to not have been at home at the time of the fire but had suffered the loss of their loved ones.

Around five minutes later, Candice made the right turn and drove for another minute or two before they could see the Hale house up ahead. She spotted his car parked outside and felt relieved of the possibility that he could at least be sleeping out of the car and not in the ruins of his childhood home.

She slowed the car to a stop and put it in park before leaning forward in her seat to get a closer look through the windshield at what once had to have been an impressive three-story home. "Whoa."

She tore her eyes away from the house and glanced over at Derek who had his head slightly tilted as he looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Would you like to go inside? I could give you the grim tour of the place."

Candice stayed quiet for a moment before she gave a little hesitant nod of her head. They both stepped out of the car and started walking towards the house with Candice falling a few steps behind him. He opened the front door and waited patiently for her to climb the porch steps and warily come nearer. She touched the door frame and looked at her hand afterward to see that it was dirty with black soot. She sent Derek a glance over her shoulder and he nodded encouragingly for her to go on inside.

The old floorboards, carpeted with ash, creaked under the weight of her foot as she entered the foyer. The exterior of the house had been frightening to look at when she thought of all the people that had lost their lives, but getting to see the inside of the house was even more frightening and gut-wrenching. Some of the furniture had managed to survive the fire, like the couch in the living room, although stained with soot.

Derek commented on a few things as they advanced through the house. Like where they used to put the Christmas tree every year, and like how it had been necessary for the dinner table to seat at least twelve people because they would more often than not have friends and family visiting from out of town.

Despite the tragedy that had occurred where they were standing, Candice found herself smiling and enjoying hearing about the happy memories Derek felt like sharing.

"Is it safe?" Candice asked, eyeing the staircase with a wary look after Derek asked her if she wanted to see more of the house.

"Safe enough," he answered and climbed the first two steps before he outstretched a hand in her direction. She took it and with his big hand engulfing hers, his grip strong and confident, they walked upstairs.

"The master bedroom used to be in there," he said, gesturing to a door on the far left of the long hallway.

"And where were yours?"

"Right in there," he replied, gesturing to the door on the right. He released her hand and stayed where he was as Candice stepped forward and gently pushed the door open. She took a step inside and inhaled a sharp breath, not because the room wasn't in any better or worse shape than the rest of the house. But because the room clearly held evidence of him staying in what was left of his childhood home even after the dreadful fire that most of his family succumbed to. A mattress was in the middle of the room, and next to it was a few books and a chest with clothes spilling out of it.

"Derek, if you need somewhere to stay-"

"Don't worry," he interrupted her. "It's only temporary."

"But still..." She glanced around at their surroundings. "I could help you find something. My mom is a realtor, I could ask her-"

"You don't have to do that. I'm all right. I don't even know how long I'll be staying in Beacon Hills for."

A gust of wind blasted between them then, causing Candice to shiver, and she rubbed her arms, attempting to fend off the goosebumps.

"You're cold?" he asked her but didn't wait for her to answer before he shrugged off his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "There's a broken window I've been meaning to fix."

Candice smiled because he was being sweet and pulled the jacket tighter around her. She swallowed and briefly lowered her eyes to the ground before raising them again and meeting his. "So, uh, you're going back to your life in New York? When do you think you're leaving?"

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, drawing her attention to his lips. "I don't know," he replied. "It depends I guess. I'm still trying to find out what happened with my sister, and my uncle is a coma patient at the hospital here so..."

"Your uncle? Was he... caught in the fire?" she asked him timidly.

Derek nodded. "The only one who got out."

"I'm really sorry, Derek, that that happened to you."

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry about your cousin."

It was getting really late and Candice had told her mother she would be home soon. They went back downstairs, and he followed her outside to her car. She returned his jacket to him and thanked him for letting her borrow it. Out of the rear-view mirror, as she drove off, she saw him turn around and walk back towards the house. The thought of him being all alone in that house made her feel deeply sorry for him, and she was reminded of how lucky she was that she had her family waiting at home for her.

The rest of the week went by without a hitch, but come Friday there was a new rumor flying around the school regarding Scott McCall. Apparently, someone had seen him leave the coach's office that morning and overheard him muttering to himself about Scott being a fool if he misses Saturday's game.

To say Candice was annoyed was an understatement since she had spent every day since Monday trying to cool Luke down after Jackson got injured, and had finally managed to do it. After the rumor that Scott might not be playing for whatever reason, Luke started panicking all over again. No matter how Luke felt about Scott even he had to admit that the kid had some mad skills and the team would mostly be relying on him without Jackson being at the top of his game.

Either way, Candice was not amused. With so much else going on in her life at the moment, a high school lacrosse game felt pretty insignificant to her and there was no way around that.

Lydia had also expressed her low opinion on Scott because of how he was willing to risk the team losing for personal reasons. But regardless of how the game was going to plan out, she'd decided for them that they were all going out afterward.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Allison insisted as she and Candice were standing by the brunette's locker in the crowded hallway.

Candice wasn't convinced and made a sarcastic thumbs-up right as Lydia walked up to them, dragging Robbie McKay, one of the guys from the team, behind her.

"This is Allison," Lydia told him. Candice frowned, wondering what her friend was up to.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Robbie said.

"She's the new girl," Lydia went on. "She just moved here."

Candice was still confused but then she noticed Scott further down the hall, shooting daggers at Lydia, and was able to connect the dots.

"Oh, how do you like it?" Robbie asked Allison, unaware that he was a puppet and Lydia was the puppet master.

"I like it," Allison replied, seeming to be equally unaware or Lydia's hidden motive, which was to piss off Scott.

Candice excused herself from the conversation and left early for class, but met up with them later at lunch.

"Attention students," the principal said through the loudspeaker as Candice took a sip from her soda. "Everyone under the age of eighteen is to be in their home by nine-thirty p.m. effective immediately by order of the sheriff department. I repeat, everyone under the age of eighteen are to be in their home by nine-thirty p.m. effective immediately by order of the sheriff department. Thank you."

"Sorry guys," Candice said. "There's no way my parents are letting me go out after the game tomorrow if there's a curfew."

Lydia scowled. "Fine. What about you lot? Are you still in?"

Allison lifted a shoulder apologetically. "Sorry, Lydia. My parents are definitely not gonna go for it either."

Luke put an arm around the back of Candice's chair. "We're still on for tonight though, right?" he asked, brushing her hair off her shoulder and very softly pressing a kiss there.

Candice thought about it. "Yeah, I guess, but Mom is probably gonna make sure you leave in time to be home by nine-thirty."

"I can live with that," he said, removing his arm, and leaning a little over the table to continue his discussion about the stakes tomorrow with Jackson and Danny.

"Someone's popular," Lydia stated, studying her manicured hands, when Candice's phone buzzed for a third time on the table, announcing another text message.

Candice shot her an innocent smile and checked her phone.

"Derek?" Allison whispered discreetly, making sure no one, especially Luke, couldn't hear.

Candice nodded as she read the text.

"What did he write?" Allison asked curiously. "You're smiling."

She immediately relaxed her face. "Uh, it's nothing," she lied poorly.

"How does Luke feel about your... newfound friendship?"

Candice sent a quick reply and put her phone away. "I don't know what you mean."

"He's fine with it? I find that hard to believe. He's the guy that made a scene last week because you let another guy drive you home. You mean to tell me that it doesn't bother him that you've been texting with that same guy like every day this week?"

Candice tilted her head and bit her bottom lip. "He's not a fan," she replied honestly. "But we're texting about meaningless stuff," she defended. "You know, like how our day is going. It's strictly platonic so there's really nothing for him to be jealous of."

"Derek just want to be your friend?" Allison asked skeptically, breaking out into a wide grin. "How gullible can a person be?"

Candice didn't know what to say to that. "Whatever. Derek's a nice distraction right now. It gives me less time being stuck in my own head. I don't want to complicate things."

"Yeah, well, speaking of Derek," Allison said. "Scott totally warned me to stay away from him earlier in the hall."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't say why I should stay away from him, just kind of implied that he was bad news."

Candice frowned. "Didn't Derek say they were friends?" Allison nodded and ate a French fry. "Well, then they probably just had an argument or something."

Allison pressed her lips together. "How much do you really know about this guy?"

"I..." Candice sighed. "I guess I don't know that much really. I know a bit of what he's been through. I know he's been nice to me, and I feel like I can talk to him."

"Just promise to be careful, okay?" Allison told her. "Look out for warning signs."

Candice huffed out a laugh. "I promise."

"Promise what?" Luke asked her, putting his arm around the back of her chair again.

"To be careful," she answered him truthfully. She'd thought for a split second that she ought to come up with a lie fast, but reminded herself she wasn't actually doing anything wrong. There was no reason to lie since Derek was just quickly becoming a friend.

Luke frowned, confused. "Of what?" Candice opened her mouth to answer but he spoke first. "Derek?"

"Scott McCall warned Allison to stay away from him for some reason."

"And what reason is that?"

"We don't know, hence why I promised to be careful."

Luke's hand cupped her shoulder. "Or, you know, you could just stay clear of him altogether?"

She scowled at him. "I'm not gonna do that."

"Why not?" he argued.

"He hasn't given me a reason to."

Luke pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose in frustration. "McCall's a friend of this guy?" Candice gave an uncertain nod because she didn't know where he was going with this. "Right. Then don't you think he knows what he's talking about if he warns people off him?"

Candice heaved her chest in a deep sigh. "Maybe."

Luke's eyebrows raised, probably in surprise because he hadn't expected her to agree with him. "So, you'll stop trying to be his friend then?" he asked, a smile flickering across his face.

"No." His smile disappeared, and he looked grumpy. "For all we know, Scott doesn't want Allison anywhere near Derek because he wants her all to himself."

"Fine," he hissed. "Be his friend then for all I care."


End file.
